Food and Dance Fakatonga

November 20, 2012

I am learning one of the Tongan war dances. As I have mentioned before, school as of now is pretty much over, it is just the kids learning traditional songs and dances. I take some of the kids during the day and do little English things with them while their peers finish up some test and then that is pretty much the extent of it. The dance is fun though, I get a spear type stick and I get to pretend I am intimidating.

The kids and their families are responsible for bringing me lunch everyday until december 7 so I haven't had to do any cooking yet except for recently when they started bringing me uncooked food. The brought me two large lobsters the other day, which i baked and they came out great! That's right people I actually touched the lobsters and all of the lobsteryness, I am slowly concurring my fear of sea life (watch me peel prawns now Paige!). Yesterday they brought me two big fish and I stupidly told Mele that I wanted to make 'ota ika (a typical Tongan dish that is pretty amazing but it is raw fish- like uncooked). It was perhaps the hardest thing I have had to watch- kids helped to prepare it but the water wasn't working in my house (a common thing) so it was done outside, no hands were washed and the kid cleaning the fish had so many open gashes on his legs that I knew he probably had been picking. Watching them clean the fish almost made me sick, especially the part when they gutted it and then ate the eggs inside of it- is it just me or would other people find this a bit unsettling? They also waste nothing here so we cooked the fish heads and tails in a pot with coconut milk and veggies. Of course you have to share everything here so the other teachers came over and we all ate together- which was fine by me since I was scared to eat too much anyway. In the end I survived so I am thinking this means health codes don't really account for anything...

one of my lunches... isn't this scary to anyone else, it's like eating aliens...

Tongan Pets

November 19, 2012

Today was a challenging day to say the least. I had to burry a puppy. We had found this small puppy that didn’t really have a chance for survival because it needed a mom to feed. I didn’t know what to do so I took it home and bathed it and tried to feed it. It was seizing and foaming at the mouth so I knew it really wasn’t any use. It lasted the night and most of the next day but I had to watch it slowly die. I tried to impart on the kids that this was a serious thing but between Tongans lack of compassion for pets (dogs in particular) and the language barrier, it wasn't really working. I got one of the kids to bring me a shovel and I dug a hole for the puppy because I couldn’t watch it waste away anymore. Eventually it past and we had a little ceremony for it- hopefully that taught some of the kids a little compassion.

This was the same day that they brought me a cat. I had been telling the community that I wanted a cat to help with my cockroach issue (cats eat roaches). Today the show up at my door around 7:30 am and hold up a potato bag. Inside the bag was a cat. As if that wasn’t jarring enough, Tongans perform a ceremony when passing off cats- the cut off their whiskers and pour babyoil in its eyes; I guess the cutting of the whiskers is to make it ashamed to leave the house (without whiskers) and the oil in the eyes is so that the first thing it sees after the oil is its home.. It was hard to watch, I almost expressed my annoyance at the seeming cruelty but I kept telling myself- it’s cultural let it go. The cat is still afraid of me and wont let me come near it- I hate to be cruel but as long as it will still eat the roaches I guess we don’t have to be friends.

As if it wasn't clear, Tongans don't really do pets. They have lots of animals but they don't think of them as pets like Americans do, the animals are strictly functional. Dogs are to watch the house, cats are to eat rats, pigs are to eat everything else (and be eaten). There is anything like pet food here, they just get fed scraps. All the dogs are pretty mean and look like they all have mange and you grow to hate them. You just have to pick up a rock (or pretend to pick up a rock) and the run away because they are used to being hit with rocks by the Tongans. It is hard to get used to but after awhile the dogs become Tongan dogs and you lose your sense of compassion a little bit (either that or you get attacked).

Side note- the cat may still be living in my house. I thought it ran away but I found paw prints on my counter and crap in the corner. I don't know where it is hiding though!

Church With a Side of Church Please

November 18, 2012

Sundays in Tongan are church, mohe (sleep), eat, mohe, church, eat, mohe. I literally spent more hours at church on Sunday then I did in my entire four years in undergrad. It wasn’t too bad though, the singing is pretty good and it is not like I have much else to do. After morning church they dropped off a ton of food at my house and left (here I thought I would be having a huge Sunday dinning experience with a family, what gives?), I decided to make the most of it and put on a movie. My 13 year-old friend (who is my next door neighbor and comes to keep me company everyday) Suli came over and was taken enthralled by Ironman 2, by the time I got back from my 3^rd round of church we had a small viewing party of the movie. It is nice have a house where people can congregate, hopefully after my Tongan improves my house guest will be over the age of 14...

The Lookout

November 17, 2012

I woke up thinking that this was going to be my first Friday where nothing was planned and I would have absolutely nothing to do, school was out for a holiday and nothing else was on my schedule. I decided to embrace doing nothing and even was planning on enjoying the leisure. After having a nice breakfast of pineapple, I get a text from Dominca and Sean, they wanted to go to this secrete beach which is at the end of my village- score shit to do! They came to my place to pick me up and then looked around a bit and somehow it came up that it was not Friday but in fact it was Saturday; yes that is right, I legitimately was an entire day behind the rest of the world in my head. Before you judge me too hard, there is little use for knowing the days at this venture in my life, maybe when I start officially teaching it will make since, but as of now time is irrelevant in all of its forms.

We walked to this amazing lookout point and then down to this incredible beach. I am so luckily to live within walking distance of one of the most amazing spots I have ever been too.

The secrete beach from the lookout

the view from the lookout

me, Dominica and Sean

As I am writing this three days later, me going to the beach with Sean, Dominica and 2 other palangies is still the talk of my village. Everyone keeps asking me, adults included, so you went to the beach on Saturday? I feel like a celebrity almost, never have I had the insignificant (or significant for that matter) details of my life been such big news!

First Days at Site

November 16, 2012

My first few days at site have been great! The minute I got to site I dropped off my stuff and went to meet the faifekau (reverend) for a quick kava ceremony (where the shells were extra big, yum!). After the kava with the reverend I went to the classroom next door where there was a whole feast set out for me with students and PTA members and the 3 other teachers in attendance. The feast had everything- roast pig, lobster, Tongan chicken and of course root crop…

Yesterday I went to play volleyball at the Mormon church after a Peace Corps workshop with or principals and counterparts. A guy who was playing turned to me after a bit and asked me in perfect English, “so you went to Cal?” (I was wearing a Berkeley shirt). Apparently he is here on his mission and almost played football for Cal in 2010. Such a small world…

I am really enjoying my house except for the cockroach infestation… Every night I am forced to stay in the seclusion of my bedroom because after the sunsets it is the cockroaches’ house. Yesterday I went crazy with this intense bug spray called Mortien and this morning I spent 20 minutes cleaning up dead roaches…They may have won the battle but it is I who got the last laugh; tonight shall be round 2.

The bug spray also brought out the molokau. I have now killed 5 molokau in a verity of ways including the use of a hammar, a shoe, a broom, and a wooden spear that i am using to learn a traditional Tongan war dance with my school.

my room

shower

main living area- the boy on the ground is Suliasi. He is my 13 year-old next door neighbor and has been made to come over and keep me company. He comes over everyday after school and we eva together and watch movies. He has become obsessed with Pokemon on the gameboy (thank you Jake, probably the best PC game).

weird breakfast nook?

Kitchen

I'm on a Boat!...For 24 Hours

November 13, 2012

It is finally here! The day we move to site- the catch is that it takes a 24-hour ferry ride to get to Vava’u… Before the never ending ferry all us Vava’u people got a big breakfast at the touristy Friends Café and then did some last minute shopping around town. I got to have a great conversation with one of the old volunteers who will be leaving at the end of the week. We got to talk about her service and things she learned and some information that will be helpful for me to know early on.

Eventually the moment came and we all shoved our way to the front of the line (a feat in its own because Tongans don’t believe in lines, just elbows) and got a great spot on the outdoor covered deck area. The Boat is a semi-new donation from Japan so everything is in Japanese but it is a huge improvement from the Tongan ferry before it, the last boat wasn’t Peace Corps safety approved. The boat ride was actually not bad, we got to see a South Pacific sunset on the water and we got to see an amazing view of the night sky. We actually got to sleep a bit and we woke up in enough time to walk around the main island in the Ha’apai group while the boat was docked. Being on the open water, rocking back and forth for hours was all worth it for the amazing entrance into the Vava’u island group. Seeing all the amazing islands and the natural beauty of our new home was the best motivator I have ever received.

When we finally docked, all our principals where there to meet us, mine had ka’hoa (traditional Tongan lays) and sliced fruit waiting for me. We loaded the truck with all of my stuff and set off to my new home.

Sean, Harrison and me

the Vava'u crew

A Pacific sunset

outer island in Vava'u

Swear-in!

November 9, 2012

Our swear-in ceremony was yesterday, and it was super great. We got to take our oath and become real Peace Corps volunteers in the presence of the Prime Minister of Tonga and the US Ambassador! It was so crazy being in front of such important people who were actually there to watch us. The ceremony was in the same small beach resort we went to the older volunteer’s close of service. This time the room (over looking the ocean) was elegantly decorated and the stage was set for the distinguished guests.

the group right before the ceremony

a really bad shot of the Prime Minister

getting my pin

Everyone who wanted to got to do something in the ceremony. Some people read hymns, some played songs on the guitar and ukulele, Ryan gave a wonderful speech and some of the girls did the Tau’olunga (a traditional Togan dance); I performed the tau’ovale, which means I was the back up dancers for Katy and Mandy when they were doing the tau’olunga. When I first said I would do the dance I thought I would be with one other guy and I thought that we would just dance in the back, little did I know I would have to be making a fool of myself shirtless, while wearing war paint and a skirt made out of banana leaves… Oh, I should also mention that I was also lathered in baby oil…. I was really nervous to do the dance because I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, they told me to just dance in the background but they didn’t tell me how... In the end I still didn’t know what I was doing but I got a few tips from and old volunteer and just winged it. We ended up making over 100 pa’anga from the money that the audience sticks to your baby oiled body during the performance, so I must have done something right (-;

me, Katy and Many performing for the PM and other higher ups...

After the performances we ate a thanksgiving type meal with our host parents, who were invited to the ceremony. It was really nice getting to see my host mom again especially since she was the one who made my outfit for the show and came up to dance with me at toward the end of my ridiculous performance… How's that for cultural integration!

All of us used our swear-in as an excuse to have a bit of a celebration. We all, including my host brothers who came to see me, went out to dinner at this pretty decent Chinese place (one of the few restaurants on the island that can accommodate a group our size), and we pooled our money to buy some alcohol for the evening. We had a nice pow-wow at Selas with drinks and sing-alongs and then we all went out. The first bar we went to was reload, my host brothers, Katy and I were running behind and by the time we got there the bar was no longer allowing any Tongans into the bar. This made me extremely angry because I hate white privilege, especially when it is so blatant and in front of people I care about. Luckily, our friends were in the other bar down the street, which turned out better anyway because it had a dance floor. We all had such a great time we didn’t leave until the bar was closing at 12:30. It was a bit nostalgic for me on our walk back to Sela’s when we stopped to get some food at a fried chicken place that was still open, I had flash backs to other intoxicated walks home- from the Celtic bar to my four flight walkup in Bologna, and from Kips to my frat house, and my frat house to my apartment during pledging… I don’t think drunken walks home are going to be quite as frequent here as they were during those times in my life, but it made me excited for what memories this time of my life will make.

Katy with my host brothers Koni and Tonga